Subhi al-Tufayli
Secretary-general of Hezbollah (born 1948) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Subhi al-Tufayli (Arabic: صبحي الطفيلي; born 1948) is a senior Lebanese Shi'ite cleric and politician who founded the Hezbollah militant group in 1982 and was its first Secretary-General from 1989 until 1991. From a comparatively young age, Tufayli achieved popular following amongst Lebanese Shi'ite community, who viewed him as the most learned Shi'ite scholar in the Beqaa Valley.[1][2][3][4]
Subhi al-Tufayli | |
---|---|
صبحي الطفيلي | |
Secretary-General of Hezbollah | |
In office 1989–1991 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Abbas al-Musawi |
Personal details | |
Born | 1948 (age 75–76) Brital, Lebanon |
Al-Tufayli is a Shia Islamist, but is a very vocal critic of Iran and the current Hezbollah leadership. Tufayli's split with Hezbollah arose during 1990s after the death of co-founder Abbas al-Mousavi, when the faction of Hassan Nasrallah favoured by Iran began to emerge dominant.[5][6] The main dispute was over Tufayli's insistence on shunning Lebanese politics and instead focus on fighting armed insurgency against Israel, which the Nasrallah faction downplayed.[7][8] After violent confrontations between Tufayli's followers and Hezbollah members, he was expelled from Hezbollah in 1998.[9]
The cleric has since been active as a fierce opponent of Hezbollah and Iran; and has urged his followers to stand against Iranian hegemony in the region.[10][11][12]